Published: April 25, 2006
Building the World: Why Real Estate Is the Hot Career and How to Get Started
An important new book offers career-seekers an in-depth look at a path they may never have considered. Here, from author Stan Ross, are six tips to help you get off on the right foot.
Whether you're a high school student exploring colleges or a 30-something looking to shift gears, finding the right career is very much on your mind. You want to make your living doing something exciting. Meaningful. And yes, potentially lucrative. You've considered the old standbys-doctor, lawyer, professor, politician-but none of them seems exactly right for you. Stan Ross has a suggestion: why not consider one of today's hottest careers . . . real estate.
That's right. The author of Inside Track to Careers in Real Estate (Urban Land Institute, April 2006, ISBN: 0874209544) says while this industry has always held great promise-people will always need places to live, work, shop, and vacation-the world itself is evolving, and real estate simultaneously reflects and shapes those changes.
"Professionals with a variety of talents, skills, experiences, and educational backgrounds will be in demand, both in the traditional businesses of development, ownership, property management and real estate services as well as in many other areas such as rebuilding neighborhoods or cities following natural or manmade disasters; sustainable development that improves our quality of life and preserves natural resources; or investment and development in emerging markets such as China and India," Ross writes in his introduction.
If you don't know anything about real estate, or are not sure about a career in real estate, or may be interested in a real estate career, this book is a great starting point. It's packed with information on the many diverse segments of the industry, the wealth of job opportunities, and the possible career paths you can take to meet your goals. Just as important, Inside Track to Careers in Real Estate helps you explore your own skill sets, strengths, goals, and desires so you can decide whether the field is right for you.
Dozens of candid interviews with top real estate leaders (yes, including Donald Trump) and real estate educators add flavor and the credibility that only real-life, been-there-done-that voices can provide.
Here, excerpted from Inside Track to Careers in Real Estate, are a few tips, insights, and suggestions for anyone interested in exploring this fascinating field.
Do lots of research before taking the real estate plunge. Here are six ways:
- Do research on career planning generally. The appendix suggests books, articles, web sites, and other resources.
- Research the real estate industry. Your goal is to develop a better idea of not only whether you want to work in real estate but what the options are and where you might want to work-in what sector, for what type of company, in what position, or whether to go into business yourself.
- Talk to people in real estate. Talk to brokers, property managers, project managers and other real estate professionals. Visit some real estate projects and talk to people on site. Also talk to educators in business schools and real estate programs.
- Attend meetings of local real estate organizations, talk to the professionals in attendance, and get their observations on career opportunities in real estate. The Appendix lists these organizations.
- Take an introductory course in real estate at a local university or college or other institution . . . or enroll in an online course.
- Begin your career search with a self-assessment. (The book provides one.)
Put compensation in perspective. You certainly need money to pay off college loans, cover the bills, buy a car, have spending money, and save for the future. However, the best entry-level job for you may not necessarily be the top paying job. "Go to work for a good company," said Brian Prinn, vice chairman of Lowe Enterprises, Inc. "It's important to be with a group of people who are respected in the industry and learn from them." The experience will help you to develop as a professional, advance in your career, and increase your income.
Relentlessly make connections. There's a theory, six degrees of separation, that anyone on earth can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries. You don't have to connect with everyone everywhere in advancing your career, but you should connect with people who can help you along the way. Begin while you are in school, or early in your career, to develop a contact list. It can include:
Personal and professional friends and acquaintances
People you work with
People you work for
Mentors
Professionals within the industry
People working for prospective employers
Companies to contact about employment
If you manage your contact information effectively, you will develop a growing network of people who may help you. It takes time and organization, but it's well worth the effort.
Be realistic about your entrepreneurial traits. You might be a potential real estate entrepreneur if you . . .
Have a unique vision for your business. Isadore "Issy" Sharp's vision was to build a motor hotel that would combine the convenience of a motel with the service of a downtown hotel. Today he's chairman and CEO of the Four Seasons hotel chain.
Are a self-starter. Entrepreneurs take the initiative-they are doers.
Are adaptable. You must be able to adapt to the exigencies of the market, to changing opportunities to buy or develop properties, or to unexpected challenges to closing transactions or completing development.
Have a good sense of timing. Real estate is cyclical. Entrepreneurs know when to buy at or near the bottom of the market and to sell at the top. They always design an exit strategy up front.
Know when to say "no." You must be able to walk away from deals that you perceive as too risky, from partners who lack sufficient experience or capital, or from lenders whose financing terms are not acceptable.
Factor public service opportunities into your job search. If you want your career to not be solely about making money but also about helping people, you're in luck. There are many opportunities in real estate to provide a public service, such as building, owning, and managing housing for low-income people, building shelters for the homeless or battered spouses, opening community centers, or building retail stores in inner city neighborhoods. Many for-profit developers work with nonprofit organizations to raise and invest capital in projects designed to benefit communities. Community development-a growing public service field that focuses on revitalizing local communities under the leadership of people who live there-is another option.
Whatever your stage of life, consider pursuing a graduate degree in real estate. "Quite simply, graduate degrees pay off," asserts Ross. "More students are going directly into real estate graduate programs after earning their undergraduate degrees, or are returning to school after a few years in the working world. Furthermore, professionals making a mid-career change into real estate often earn graduate degrees in their new field. As I point out in Inside Track to Careers in Real Estate, more and more schools are starting to offer such graduate programs: USC, UC-Berkeley, Cornell University, and the University of Pennsylvania, to name a few. More real estate employers are seeking to hire professionals with advanced degrees, and of course, those extra letters after your name usually earn you more money."
What really makes real estate such a hot career, says Ross, is the innovation factor. A professional with a creative streak and the chutzpah to bring his or her ideas to fruition can literally reshape the world-or at least a small corner of it.
"Think about it," he says. "Business parks, communities, hotels-these are the stage sets upon which individuals, families, and entire communities play out their lives. Real estate professionals, as the phrase suggests, get to impact society in a very real way. That's why I wrote this book. It's my way of helping more young people, and older ones for that matter, understand how exciting, satisfying, and impactful working in real estate can be. It's more than a career; it's a calling."
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